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Community, Culture, and Commerce: The Rise of Elite Lineages in Ming-Dynasty Huizhou

This project will examine the rise of lineage organization in mid-Ming (1450-1550) Huizhou prefecture. Largely due to insufficient sources, few scholars have conducted in-depth studies on kinship institutions in pre-1550 China. Huizhou, in southeastern China, is enormously rich in historical documents. Over three hundred Huizhou genealogies are stored in the Family History Library in Utah; still others are available in China. This proposal seeks support to conduct a systematic review of these genealogies, plumbing them for information on demography, social organization, and cultural practices. This research will form the core of a new book entitled COMMUNITY, CULTURE, AND COMMERCE: THE RISE OF ELITE LINEAGES IN MING-DYNASTY HUIZHOU.